Senator Levin Hit With Pie

U.S. Senator Carl Levin received a messy reception Monday in Big Rapids during a town hall meeting at a local restaurant.

A woman hit Levin with a Michigan-made apple pie at a town hall meeting at Pepper’s Cafe and Deli in Big Rapids.

According to WWJ Lansing Bureau Chief Tim Skubick, the woman reached into her backpack for the pie. “And a la Soupy Sales,” Skubick said, “she put it right in his face.”

Before the pie throwing incident, Levin was defending the couple’s right to free speech.

“The Senator was defending the young man’s right to talk about the war, the people in the audience wanted him to sit down and be quiet,” Skubick said.

“The Senator said, ‘look this is a free country, let the guy talk,’ apparently that freedom also applies to throwing pies at U.S. Senators,” he said.

According to the Big Rapid Pioneers, Ahlam Mohsen, 23, a Michigan State University senior was arrested by the Big Rapids Department of Public Safety after the incident. Max Kantar, 23, of Big Rapids, who critized Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, for his stance on U.S. foreign policy issues, fled after Mohsen pied the senator.

At the restaurant, Mohsen was escorted out and arrested by the police.

“He wiped it off, and they arrested the young lady and the young man, this was a physical assault and apparently the Senator will be pressing charges,” Skubick said.

Skubick said the incident was caught on video and the next stop may be YouTube.

Mr. Skubick’s report contains several inaccuracies. It was not a town hall meeting. It was a breakfast meeting with the Mecosta County Democratic Party and candidates for state house, senate and the 4th Congressional District. Nor was it solely a discussion of the Iraq War. The Senator had previously given a summary of his recent trip to Afghanistan.We were in a question and answer time and Mr. Kantar said he had a question to ask Senator Levin.Instead, he rushed to the front of the room and delivered a two page typed political screed, which is why the others in attendance (including myself) asked him to either ask Senator Levin a question or sit down and others had questions that because of the disruption were unable to ask. After the assault, I and others volunteered to provide witness statements. Senator Levin said he was not going to press charges. The assailant was not arrested at the restaurant, but at a nearby park. She was not escorted out, she left unescorted. The owner of the restaurant, who was very concerned about what had happened. This was very definitely a premeditated event by the three students involved. The senator was bracketed by Mr Kanter and Ms Mohar. A third person videotaped the incident.The intent was to clearly embarrass Senator Levin and by association, the Mecosta County Democratic Party and the other candidates. Why Mr Skubick chose to focus on the Michigan Made Apple Pie I find curious.